Today is Friday; 24th of the Iranian month of Esfand 1397 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1440 lunar hijri; and March 15, 2019, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

2063 solar years ago, on this day in 44 BC Dictator Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic was stabbed to death by a group of senators, apprehensive of the totalitarian powers he had assumed in the wake of his elimination of all rivals in the civil wars that followed his victories in Gaul (France), emboldening him to violate the law against crossing of the River Rubicon into Italy with armed legions – to challenge Pompey for supreme power. Caesar was killed, while planning to invade the Iranian Parthian Empire to avenge the disgraceful defeat suffered nine years earlier in 53 BC in the Battle of Carrhae (Harran in upper Mesopotamia and presently in modern Turkey), when General Surena routed a mighty Roman army led by General Marcus Licinius Crassus – member of the Triumvirate formed with Caesar and Pompey. A person of loose morals, Julius Caesar, like all other pagans was a sadistic barbarian, who in his official ‘triumphs’ (public celebrations on Rome’s streets and amphitheatre) used to stage live battles and watch with delight as prisoners of war divided into groups brutally killed each other. His death transformed the republic into the Roman Empire under his designated heir, grandnephew Ocatavius, who after elimination of his main rival Mark Antony, assumed the imperial title of Emperor Augustus Caesar. Julius Caesar is mostly remembered for his replacement of the Roman lunar calendar with the Egyptian solar calendar of 365.25 days, by adding a leap day at the end of February every fourth year. The month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honour and thus the Julian calendar (named after him), opened on 1 January 45 BC. It was used in Europe until its replacement in 1582 AD by the Gregorian calendar.

1056 solar years ago, on this day in 963 AD, Byzantine emperor, Romanos II, died at the age of 25 after a 4-year reign, during which his general  Nikephoros Phokas, occupied the Muslim island of Crete after a 9-month siege and sacked Aleppo the capital of the Hamdanid Shi’a Muslim emirate. Romanos II is believed to have been poisoned to death by his wife, Theophano, who soon married her husband’s victorious general, Nikephoros Phokas and declared him emperor.

872 solar years ago, on this day in 1147 AD, the Muslim fortress of Santarem, -- Shantarin in Arabic – which was an important Islamic cultural centre in the Iberian Peninsula, was treacherously attacked and seized by Afonso I of Portugal, who slaughtered the whole population. Afonso used it as a base to launch attacks on Lisbon the main Muslim city of the region, which he occupied later that year. The most notable ruler of the al-Muwahhedoun dynasty of Muslim Spain, Abu Yaqub Yusuf (patron of the philosophers Ibn Roshd and Ibn Tufail), died in Santarem while trying to recapture it during his unsuccessful siege of 1184.

533 solar years ago, on this day in 1486 AD, the Ottoman army was again defeated before Adana by the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt-Syria. Commander Qaragoz Mohammad fled the field, while General Hersekzade Ahmed was taken captive, and Cilicia in what is now south-central Turkey returned to the control of the Mamluks. The series of internecine Muslim wars between the two major Turkic powers were the result of intrigue by the Pope and West European Christian states, following end of the Byzantine Empire and fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, when it appeared that it was matter of time before Islam could spread all over Europe. It was unfortunate of the Ottomans to halt their drive into Europe and turn towards the east against fellow Muslims in Anatolia and Syria, at a time when the beleaguered Spanish Muslims of Granada were desperately calling on the Muslim World for help, and the Mamluks had prepared a large army in what is now Libya for stopping the Christian aggressors in the Iberian Peninsula. This same seditious policy of the Ottomans in Muslim lands was the cause of the Battle of Chaldiran against the Safavid Empire of Iran that allowed much-needed respite to Europe to reorganize militarily and culturally (Renaissance) for eventually pushing back the Ottomans and gradually ending their supremacy in the Muslim lands of southwest Europe that were forcibly Christianized after centuries of Islamic rule and culture.

407 lunar years ago, on this day in 1033 AH, the renowned theologian and hadith scholar, Shaikh Abu Ja’far Mohammad ibn al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn al-Hussain al-Ameli al-Mashghari, popularly known as al-Horr al-Ameli, was born in the village of Mashghara in the JabalAmel region of southern Lebanon. His early education began with a family of teachers that included his father, his paternal uncle, his maternal grandfather ShaikhAbdus-Salaam ibn Mohammad, and one of his father's maternal uncles, Shaikh Ali ibn Mahmoud. He also studied under Hussain ibn Hassan ibnYunus Zaher and Hassan ibnZain od-Din Ameli, who was the great-grandson of the Second Martyr. Husain Zaher was the first to give him the ijaza or permission to teach and transmit hadith. He remained for the first forty years of his life in his homeland, performing the Hajj to Mecca twice and pilgrimage to the holy shrines in Iraq. He eventually journeyed to Mashhad, Iran, and settled there for the rest of his life as Shaikh al-Islam at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Successor of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). Before arriving in Mashhad he stayed for a while in the Safavid capital, Isfahan, where he became acquainted with the famous Allamah Mohammad BaqerMajlisi. The meeting between these two scholars left an impression on both of them and Majlisi introduced Horr al-Amili to the Safavid Emperor, Shah Sulaiman. He passed away in Mashhad at the age of 81 and was laid to rest in one of the portals of the holy shrine, where his grave is still the site of pilgrimage. He wrote numerous books including “Wasa'el ash-Shia”, which is a vast but concise compilation and classification of Hadith that took him 18 years to complete. Among his other famous works is “al-Jawaher as-saniyafi'l-Ahadith al-Qudsiya”, and “Amal al-Amel fi UlamaJabal al-Amel”, which is a biographical dictionary of Shi'ite Muslim scholars who originated from the JabalAmel region.

281 solar years ago, on this day in 1638 AD, Shunzhi Emperor of China was born. At the tender age of 5 he was crowned emperor in Beijing as the third ruler of the Qing Dynasty, following collapse of the Ming Dynasty, and thus became the first Qing Emperor to rule all over China. On reaching adolescence and taking over the reins of government, he tried with mixed success, to fight corruption and to reduce the political influence of the Manchu nobility. In late 1646, forces assembled by a Muslim leader, known in Chinese sources as Milayin, revolted against Qing rule in Ganzhou (Gansu). He was soon joined by another Muslim named Ding Guodong. Proclaiming that they wanted to restore the Ming, they occupied a number of towns in Gansu, including the provincial capital Lanzhou. Both Milayin and Ding Guodong were captured and killed in 1648, and by 1650 the Muslims had been crushed in campaigns that inflicted heavy casualties. In the 1650s, he faced a resurgence of Ming loyalist resistance, but by 1661 his armies had defeated their last enemies, seafarer Koxinga (1624–1662) and the Prince of Gui (1623–1662) of the Southern Ming dynasty. The Shunzhi Emperor died at the age of 23 of smallpox.

249 lunar years ago, on this day in 1191 AH, the prominent Islamic scholar, Seyyed Hussain son of Seyyed Ja’far Khwansari, passed away. He groomed numerous students; some of whom became the leading ulema of their day, such as Allamah Bahr al-Oloum. He has left behind numerous books including commentaries on the Ziyarat-e Ashura of Imam Husain (AS) and the famous supplication of the month of Ramadhan, known as Dua Abu HamzaThumali that was taught by Imam Zain al-Abedin (AS) to his disciple of the same name.

165 solar years ago, on this day in 1854 AD, German bacteriologist, Emil Adolf von Behring, considered founder of the science of immunology, was born. He continued the researches of French chemist, Louis Pasteur, and in 1890 working with S. Kitasato, discovered that immunity against tetanus and diphtheria could be produced by injecting serum from an animal that had recovered from the disease. He coined the word antitoxin for such substances. In 1901 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology for his work on serum therapy.

131 solar years ago, on this day in 1888 AD, the Anglo-Tibetan War started at the end of deadline set by the British for withdrawal of Tibetan forces from Sikkim. Fought in the high Himalayan mountain ranges, the Tibetans were forced to withdraw and sign the Calcutta Accord in 1890, renouncing all claims to suzerainty over Tibet.

112 lunar years ago, on this day in 1328 AH, Ayatollah Seyyed Abdullah Behbahani, who was a leading religious figure of the Constitutional Movement, was martyred by terrorists at the age of 68. Born in holy Najaf, in Iraq, to Seyyed Ismail Mojtahed Behbahani, he completed his education there under such senior ulema as Ayatollah Sheikh Morteza Ansari, and Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi – famous for fatwa against tobacco consumption. At the age of 35, after attaining the status of ijtehad, he came to Iran and involved himself in the struggle against the despotic rule of the Qajarid Dynasty, along with Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Sadeq Tabatabai. He played a pivotal role in the victory of the Constitutional Revolution, making utmost efforts to this end, which led to his martyrdom.

68 solar years ago, on this day in 1951 AD, the Iranian parliament (the Majlis) voted to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and its holdings, and shortly thereafter Iranians democratically elected Mohammad Mossddeq as Prime Minister. This led to the Abadan Crisis where foreign countries, under pressure from Britain, boycotted the purchase of Iranian oil and the Abadan refinery was closed. On 26 May 1951, Britain took Iran to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanding that the 1933 agreement be upheld and that Iran pay damages and compensation for disrupting the UK-incorporated company's profits. On 22 July 1952, the ICJ dismissed the case, resulting in the strengthening of Prime Minister Mosaddeq’s position and the fleeing of the British-installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1953. This was a main reason leading to the Anglo-American coup of August 1953 to remove Mosaddeq and re-install the Pahlavi potentate on the throne of Iran. Founded in 1908 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjid Soleiman, it was the first company to extract petroleum from Iran. In 1935 APOC was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and in 1954 it became the British Petroleum Company (BP).

39 solar years ago, on this day in 1980 AD, the first legislative elections were held in Islamic Republic of Iran, thereby materializing one of the prime goals of the Islamic Revolution to choose lawmakers in a free and fair atmosphere, at a time when enemies were hatching conspiracies to undermine the government. The Iranian people, under the leadership of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA) foiled all conspiracies, as the Majlis started its activities. Today the Majlis has 290 lawmakers, who are chosen by people’s votes for a 4-year term. Iranian Sunni Muslims in the Kurdish, Turcoman, and Baluch areas, elect their own representatives to the national parliament, while non-Muslim minorities, such as the Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, also elect representatives from their own community to the Majlis. The laws passed by the Legislature ought not to violate the fundamental principles of Islam and the Constitution. The Majlis grants or refuses vote of confidence to ministers, and has the power to impeach them, including the President.

34 solar years ago, on this day in 1985 AD, agents of foreign powers triggered a bomb blast in the massive Friday Prayer gathering at Tehran University Campus, martyring and injuring many innocent worshippers. Meanwhile, timed with this terrorist operation during the height of the imposed war, Iraqi warplanes flew over Tehran to create panic in the city. The bomb blast failed to disrupt the Friday Prayer gathering and the then President Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was delivering the Tehran Friday Prayer sermons, continued his speech.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1995 AD, US President Bill Clinton, in a blatant act of hostility against Islamic Iran, issued an executive order formally blocking a $1 billion contract between Conoco and Iran to develop a huge offshore oil tract in the Persian Gulf. Washington’s intention was to hurt Iranian economy, but it actually axed its own feet, resulting in multi-million losses for American oil companies.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1997 AD, in northeastern Iran a C-130 military cargo plane crashed near Mashhad and all 86 people aboard were killed.

18 solar years ago, on this day in 2001 AD, Ayatollah Abdur-Rahman Mohammadi Hidaji, passed away at the age of 75. A product of the seminary of holy Qom, he was socially active in his hometown Hidaj near Zanjan. In addition to jurisprudence, he was an expert in literature and history.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2012 AD, thousands of Bahraini people held a peaceful protest rally in the capital Manama, against the repressive policies of the Aal-e Khalifa minority regime, on the first anniversary of the invasion of this Persian Gulf island state by Saudi forces.

AS/SS